Wayside Park

This 40-acre park is home to fishing pier, a favorite with locals, as well as a generous beach laden with soft sand. You can enjoy people-watching, try to catch a fish, or watch a spirited game of beach volleyball. Amenities include a playground.

John C. Beasley Park

Located just a few feet off of the boardwalk on the Gulf of Mexico, just a splash east of Wayside Park, John Beasley Park features showers, pavilions, facilities and picnic tables, as well as a restaurant, beach club, playground, and beach volleyball court. Activities include snorkeling, fishing, and even a little surfing.

Henderson Beach State Park

(17000 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin, FL 32541, phone: 850-837-7550)

Gleaming white sand characterizes this popular Park, which offers a natural 6,000-foot beach.

You can swim, fish in the surf, go biking, camp, walk the nature trail, or just kick back by the waves.

In autumn, the beach is even more stunning than usual, when beach morning glories and other wildflowers carpet the sand.

Shores at Crystal Beach Public Access and Park

(2966 Scenic Hwy 98, Destin, FL 32541, phone: 850-837-4242)

Snuggled against the Gulf of Mexico, this Park is open from dawn to dusk. It features a pavilion, restrooms, showers, picnic tables and limited parking.

James Lee Park

(3510 Scenic Hwy 98, Destin, FL 32541, phone: 850-689-5772)

Open from dawn to dusk, James Lee County Park is a family favorite. The water is shallow and clear, making it inviting for your whole gang, and there are lots of picnic tables and parking spaces, as well as pavilions, a playground and restrooms with changing rooms. After you work up an appetite playing in the surf, dust off the sand and recharge your batteries at the Crab Trap restaurant in the parking lot.